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How to Make Slow Roasted Tomatoes (and Recipes Using Slow Roasted Tomatoes)

This post will show you How to Make Slow Roasted Tomatoes, which I think are one of the best things about summer! And be sure to check out the recipe ideas using slow roasted tomatoes at the end of the post.

If you have a garden, or even access to a farmer's market where you can get good fresh tomatoes, and you haven't tried making slow roasted tomatoes, you've missed an absolute treat. I first learned about slow roasted tomatoes last year when I was just starting to read food blogs.

Suddenly it seemed like everyone was making roasted tomatoes, from Cookiecrumb, to Stephen, to Alanna, who tried lots of variations and posted the master recipe for slow roasted tomatoes which I (mostly) followed here. For years I had made tomato sauce from the tomatoes in my garden and frozen it to use all winter in soups, stews, and pasta sauce. But I hadn't ever made roasted tomatoes.

Here's what I did to get those lovely looking roasted tomatoes you see in the photo above, which I'm going to be turning into pasta salad with roasted tomatoes on Thursday, when some very special guests are coming for dinner. I usually make several trays of these at a time, because they do require a long time in the oven, but I'm giving the base recipe that uses 20 tomatoes, enjoy!

I sprayed the cookie sheet with an olive oil mister, then arranged the tomatoes cut-side down on the cookie sheet. I had pre-heated the oven to 250F. (see recipe notes.)

After 3 hours, the skins of the tomatoes are just starting to wrinkle up a bit, and the house is starting to smell tomatoey.

After six hours, the tomatoes are considerably more shriveled looking.

After two more hours, the smaller tomatoes are done. I took the tomatoes out, let them cool a bit, and pinched off the skins. Most of the skins came off easily. Leave the water running to rinse your hands.

I turned the larger tomatoes over and put them back in the oven for one more hour.

This round bowl 5 1/2 inches across and 2 1/2 inches high is how many tomatoes I got (minus a few that I ate!)

After about 8 hours, start checking tomatoes. They're done when skins puff up and tomatoes are reduced in size by at least half. It's a personal preference as to how dried you like them, and I prefer to cook mine until they look fairly dense, but still a tiny bit juicy.

As tomatoes seem done, remove them from the pan. (Some will take longer than others.) Let them cook for a few minutes, then remove the skin by grabbing at the stem end and pulling off. Most of the skins come off easily. (Removing the skin is optional, but I always remove it.)

These tomatoes have an intense tomato flavor that you probably can't get any other way. They can be eaten hot or cold. They freeze wonderfully to use all winter in soups, stews, and pasta sauces.

The roasted tomatoes would be delicious chopped, tossed with freshly cooked pasta with a bit of olive oil, some fresh basil, and some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Last year I didn't make nearly enough roasted tomatoes and ran out long before winter was over! But here are a few of the recipes I've used them in:

South Beach Diet / Low-Carb Diet Suggestions:
One medium tomato has about five carbs and quite a bit of that is sugar, so the carbs could add up if you're using these roasted tomatoes in a recipe. I would use them sparingly with other low-carb ingredients if you're following the South Beach Diet or another low-carb eating plan.

I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you. Or if you're a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

If you make a recipe, share it with the hashtag #kalynskitchen on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter so I can see what you're cooking!

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89 comments:

Ah Kalyn those are just gorgeous! And the photos really help tell the story, too. I was very sad when we lost power last month and I lost the last few bags of these. Luckily, it's time to start roasting again!

Oh God, Kalyn, those are beautiful. Oh sure, make me run out to the neighbors begging for more tomatoes since I just used the last one for lunch. Pfft, see what you do to me?:-))))))))) I'm going to give your email address to the neighbors so they can write YOU with their complaints. It's not MY fault that you posted pics that look that delicious.

Wow what a beautiful post. We were just in Montreal and went to a fabulous market that always makes me miss living there. We have lots of great stuff here in Toronto but nothing like Jean Talon Market. They had an abundance of juicy sweet tomatoes and I almost bought some to take home. It's just that it was so hot, no cooler and a six hour drivce that would probably have roasted the tomatoes without the help of your recipe.

Kalyn what supper pictures, I too will have to go buy these gorgeous tomatoes and make tons for the winter months, you say they may be frozen, does that mean plain or in oil? In plastic containers or will freezer bags do? Thank you for your lovely informative blog, have been reading you for a long time and am always impressed by the quality of your blog but since I don't blog myself I always hesitated to comment but those yummy tomatoes won me over and I just had to ask, thank you.

Hooray, Connie thanks for commenting! You can freeze the tomatoes in just a plastic bowl with a snap-on lid, but if you're not using them for quite a while I might go to a zip-loc freezer bag and squeeze out as much of the air as you can. BTW, I have a FoodSaver machine which vacuum packs things, and the totally ideal way to freeze these would be freeze them individually (on a cookie sheet or something similar) and then seal them into bags of 6-8, or how many you'd use in a recipe. But last year I froze most of mine in pastic containers and they were fine.

Those do look gorgeous, Kalyn! As I said, lucky you for having all those tomatoes in your garden. But wait until next year, when I'm settled in back home. I'll ask my mum to grow some tomatoes in her garden for me, so I can _maybe_ keep up with your tomatoes:)

This is the most mind blowing post - absolutely beautiful!I have roasted tomatoes for years but I've never done it this way. What I do is fast compared to this. I'm going to find some really good organic romas and try this. I simply can't get over just how good those look.The pictures make all the difference. I'm really fascinated by the idea of pulling the skin off - seems like such a neat trick.Thanks for stopping by my blog. Glad you enjoyed the market, I really had fun and we will return. That was Sue by the way.

Thanks for a FABULOUS dinner. And quite exquisite company as well. The slow roasted tomatoes were heaven. I like this, I get to eat slow roasted tomatoes at MY house (when you visit and cook) and at YOUR house (when I visit and you cook). As for the conversation, between blogging, photography, politics, gardening, blogging, real estate, movies, new cameras, HTML, blogging, Lieberman, tomatoes, Presidential incompetence, Adobe Lightroom, Dr. Love, and the blind taste tests between yellow squash and zucchini, I think we pretty much covered everything. Thanks again. We love you.

Hi Kalyn, Just wanted to let you know that my first batch of slow-roasted tomatoes are in my oven as I write this. I'll post a photo with a shout out for you and Alanna when they're done. Thanks so much for this exciting recipe.

And for Wheresmymind, Kalyn is right, if you can give up sugar for just two weeks you will be amazed at how the craving goes away, how much better you feel and how determined you will be to continue on without sweets.

Kalyn, I finally got to use some of these from this summer -- so now I know that next summer, I'm definitely going to have to do many, many more batches of these. They're fabulous! And really versatile. I have one more container in the freezer (like I said, I really didn't freeze nearly enough...), and I have to decide how best to use them. Decisions, decisions!

We have our Festival of World Cultures here next weekend so will hit the market (which travels over from France for the occasion) and stock up on quality tomatoes. I think my own supply won't be ready for a few more weeks and I don't want to wait to give this a go.

We tried these and they were just wonderful! I do have a question though. When I made them, I made them with some big meaty heirloom tomatoes. I cut them in quarters and did them for 9 hours at 200 degrees + another 3 at 250. Almost the entire 1st 9 hours the whole pan was very wet with juice from the tomatoes. Is this Normal? I was worried they would end up just stewing.

Hi Andy,The wetness is due to the type of tomato you used, and possibly how big you cut your pieces. The recipe calls for Roma tomatoes, which are really very dry compared to other types. You can make them with other tomatoes of course, but I might increase the heat a little and make sure the pieces are fairly small. Glad they still turned out to be tasty for you.

Kayln I stumbled across your blog looking for a marinara sauce. But I found so much more!!! All the tomato recipes look so good and I cant wait to try them. My wife and I planted 24 tomato plants 2 cherry tomato plants and 14 roma tomato plants this year. We couldnt figure out what we wanted to do with them all, but we know now. I love your blog. keep up the good work. P.S. My wife and I are from Bountiful, Ut

Wow, it sounds like you'll have lots of tomatoes. Slow roasted tomatoes are a MUST in my opinion! I also wrote a series of posts last summer about using garden tomatoes (you could find them by searching "garden tomatoes" in the search bar.

How fun hearing from someone from Bountiful. I actually teach at West Bountiful Elementary, and my dad and sister live in Bountiful.

Anonymous, the recipe makes many containers of tomatoes, not just the one shown in the photo. The best way to do it is with several trays of tomatoes in the oven at the same time. Yes, it does take a long time, but to me it's worth it to preserve the tomatoes I have grown myself and not have to buy commercial produced tomatoes. I do think growing your own tomatoes and using them all winter is pretty "green" compared to buying all your food. And for me, the flavor and usefulness of slow-roasted tomatoes is worth it. Obviously, you're free to make your own choice about it.

I used a different recipe before I found yours and roasted at 225 for 8 hours. I baked them cut side up and left the skins on - do you know what the difference is? They came out delicious. Also, the recipe I used said to put several whole unpeeled garlic cloves here and there between the tomatoes and you end up with roasted garlic! The house smelled wonderful too.

Rosemary I think there are infinite variations to this recipe; it's the long roasting time at a low temperature that's the most important thing. I love the idea of roasting garlic cloves with the tomatoes.

I'd say they are similar, but even better than sun-dried tomatoes. I just freeze them in small plastic containers with as much as I think I'd use in a recipe, probably about a cup of the tomatoes in a container. They're great for soup, stew, and of course pasta sauce in the winter.

I too went on the net looking for info on freezing tomatoes & found your blog. Tomorrow I am going to slow roast some & freeze them. Now I just need a good recipe to use to reconstitute them as pasta sauce in November! Really enjoyed your site!

Kalyn ... what type of basil do you grow..... I've seen different types.... I'm interested in growing some for fresh uses. Loved your recipes. I was looking for a tomato pesto recipe and mmmm the roasted tomatoes sound so good. Thanks..... ritamae66 at yahoo.com

I just buy the seeds or plants that are labeled "sweet basil" although sometimes I get the larger-leaf type that's called "lettuce leaf basil." I usually plant some basil plants to get me started and then 1 or 2 packets of basil seeds, which gives me lots of basil.

Hi! I loved your slow roasted tomatoes last year. I am slow roasting them this year and don't remember if I took the skins off last year. Do you have to take the skins off? The recipe doesn't mention it, but details above the recipe do. I froze them and used them for dipping oil for bread. do you have to take off the skins or do you recommend taking off the skins for pasta sauce? Thanks.

Hi Kalyn,Your site is great. I think I took my tomatoes out a little soon, already skinned, but am going to put them back in for awhile as soon as the bread comes out. Do you know of anyone putting them back in before and how it turned out.Thanks again for all the wonderful recipes.Jeanette

Kalyn, they didn't dry anymore putting them back in the oven, however, they were great spread on the 12 grain bread with some goat cheese. Going to turn the rest into tampenade tomorrow & try again next week with a fresh batch of tomatoes.Jeanette

I first "discovered" slow roast tomatoes when I was bumped up to first Class by Quantas Airlines flying from Singapore to Melbourne, enroute to the Annual Rotay International Convention. I wonder howmany peoply have been temped to prepare at home "aircraft food" because it was so good? Pedro, St. Lucia

we're about to come into summer, so tomatoes will certainly be on my table. i can't wait to try your slow roasted tomatoes Kalyn.i also marvel at how three years after your original post, there is worthy content!Suzie, Adelaide, South Australia

Suzie, the slow roasted tomatoes were a life-changing thing for me. This last summer I didn't get many tomatoes in my garden, and for the first time in several years I didn't make any to freeze. I'm already wondering what I'll do without them this winter.

I have been making these tomatoes for a couple years - using them in shrimp & crab alfredo has become my special secret ingredient. This year, I am harvesting yellow romas - I am so excited to roast a batch today and see how they turn out! I can picture the golden roasted romas in my alfredo & other pastas now!

Hi Kalyn, I just bought a bunch of organic Plum tomatoes to roast and have a question... can I layer pans in the oven to get more done at once? If so, what adjustments should I make? Thanks and I am excited to throw these in the oven in the a.m.

I just cooked two batches all day - one on a cookie sheet and the others on my Pamper Chef Stone - the stones were done first and I lost the whole batch as they are burned - nohing left. Very disappointing. To boot, I just left a bag full of my last crop of tomoatoes for the neighbors - I just hope that I get another batch before the end of the season.

Those are perfect roasted tomatoes. This is great with Kebab and rice. :) I always have difficulties peeling the skin, thanks for your post, now I can do it easily. This is my first visit to your lovely blog and I'm loving it. ~ Gia

You can roast the cherry and grape tomatoes to bump up their flavor, but they don't get that slow roasted carmelization that the larger tomatoes do because you'll have to cook them for a much shorter time. I'd say it's most worth the time to do this when you have vine-ripened roma tomatoes in the summer, but if you want to try it with the tomatoes you have now they'll still be tasty.

Hello I am planning on doing this using some perfectly ripened purple heirloom tomatoes and probably about half the quantity the recipe calls for (about 6-7 tomatoes each almost twice the size of your average Roma) any pointers or ideas as far as adjustments in time or temperature?

Brandon, regular tomatoes have a higher water content than the roma tomatoes I used, so I'm guessing your cooking time will be longer. I would watch them carefully the last few hours and take out each tomato as it's done.

Kalyn,Just picked up a case of roma tomatos from the farmer's market to have these goodies for the winter/spring. This is my 2nd year doing it and just wanted to thank you for the how-to and inspiration!

Followed directions exactly, mine burned. I used Celebrity variety tomatoes (another canning variety.) Same oven settings, but woke to the smell of burned tomatoey sugar at 6.5 hours. Smaller (Roma sized toms) had nothing left to try, but the larger ones left a small amount between the char to taste test. I nearly ruined my late grandmother's baking pans :( If I try again I will roast at a time I can check them regularly, and I will begin looking for roasting pans at yard sales to use just in case.

Do you think you can do some or all the cooking in the microwave and thus reduce the total number of hours in the oven? If yes, how many hours would it be in the microwave? Looks like a wonderful recipe!

I'm really not sure how microwaving them for part of the time would work, but I'm guessing it would not give the same result because what makes these so good is the way the long cooking time in the oven cooks out the moisture and concentrates the flavor. Love to hear how it works if you try it though!

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